Author Archives: Emdashes

Three Cheers for Eighty-Five Years!

Emily Gordon writes:
We are celebrating. We hereby award the Jane Grant to Jane Grant, the Boss Hoss to Harold Ross, the Lei of Herbin to Rea Irvin, the Feast of Yeast to Raoul Fleischmann, and a vat of champagne (we mean Champagne) for the entire New Yorker staff of the present Golden Age.
You’re a natty, brainy 85, New Yorker. If you make the yearly subscription $85 a year, we’ll take it.

Reporting at Wit’s End: The Collected Essays of St. Clair McKelway

Reporting at Wit's End-book cover.jpg
_Pollux writes_:
The newly published “_Reporting at Wit’s End: Tales from The New Yorker_”:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/160819034X/ref=s9_simi_gw_p14_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1FDBYXJN2NYY47SFW8D3&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846 collects the essays of _New Yorker_ reporter “St. Clair McKelway”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Clair_McKelway (1905-1980), who wrote for the magazine from the 1930s to 60s. At a hefty 620 pages, _Reporting at Wit’s End_ is a substantial contribution to classical American journalism and _New Yorker_ history.
McKelway’s pieces pulsated with the power of the personalities he profiled. McKelway wrote pieces on figures like Stanley Clifford Weyman (born Stephen Jacob Weinberg), a “dedicated imposter.” Weinberg, like many rogues and con men, tinkered with his name, posing as “Royal St. Cyr only when he wished to drum home to himself and other people the notion that he was a lieutenant in the French Navy, which he wasn’t.” In 1940, McKelway profiled and radio commentator Walter Winchell, who, “although he has never been shot at and has been beaten up only twice, he is always expecting to be attacked.”
With an introduction by Adam Gopnik, _Reporting at Wit’s End_ is the best tribute (who needs another statue in a park?) and service that can be made to a writer of St. Clair McKelway’s caliber.

The Irvin Type: Down to a T

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_Pollux writes_:
Sharp-eyed designer and art director “Lindsay Ballant”:http://www.lindsayballant.com has spotted the use of Irvin type on “streetwear”:http://www.krudmart.com/mens/t-shirts/york-st.html for the hip and cool.
The Rocksmith York St. T-Shirt (available in black or white) features Irvin’s lettering, allowing its wearers to swagger in style. “The New Money”? Perhaps. A classic font? Absolutely.

Cold Souls: A Convincing Issue

_Pollux writes_:
I saw _Cold Souls_ on Pay-Per-View tonight. It stars Paul Giamatti as Paul Giamatti, a man who literally unburdens his soul in a Soul Storage company run by Dr. Flintstein (David Strathairn). How does Giamatti hear of the Soul Storage company? A friend calls him and tells him to the read the latest issue of _The New Yorker_.
Unable to sleep, Giamatti trudges into his living room and picks up the “latest issue” of _The New Yorker_. The issue that Giamatti picks up features Barry Blitt’s actual “cover”:http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/toc/2007/05/28/toc_20070521 for the May 28, 2007 issue, called “Half-Staff.”
But the article inside is entirely fictional. Nevertheless, in terms of layout, type, and tone, it is entirely convincing as a _New Yorker_ article. It is written by a (fictional) writer named Sarah Shruber. The article features the same headline and subtitle format, with the name of the article, “Soul Storage,” underneath the headline of “Unburdening made easy.” Its subtitle is: “Are New Yorkers tired of carrying their souls?”
The movie itself was “reviewed”:http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2009/07/20/090720ta_talk_friend in the _New Yorker_ by Tad Friend, and a “piece”:http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2009/08/10/090810crci_cinema_lane#ixzz0fUYg4rvK was also written on the film by Anthony Lane. “Paul learns about soul storage from an article in this magazine,” Lane writes, “and I seriously considered checking the archives.”
No matter what your opinion of the film is, if you see it, you’ll have to admit that they created a convincing facsimile of a _New Yorker_ article, and used, thankfully, the Irvin type.